


Armed Science

by Bullets_and_Brew



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-26
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-03-19 16:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3617130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bullets_and_Brew/pseuds/Bullets_and_Brew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Professor Hojo ended up with a pistol. Inspired by a post by risingoflights on tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Armed Science

~1976 Midgar~

The shrill ringing of his PHS shattered the blissful silence Veld had been enjoying while cleaning his pistols and a dark look was sent towards the shrieking piece of plastic before he reached over and flipped it open.

"Veld here."

'Director! We need assistance down here!'

Down here…how very descriptive. In the background though, he could hear screams and shattering glass and he sat up straighter in concern.

"Who is this and where are you?"

'Ames, I'm a lab assistant. We have a subject going berserk down here! Oh gods…oh gods, it's killed — '

Who had been killed Veld never found out as a sudden scream pierced through the airwaves and the phone was dropped, but remained on. Distinct crunching and wet ripping sounds could be heard but Veld was already gearing up and yelling for his Turks as he ran for the elevator.

The new medical labs, built deep under the Shin-Ra tower had just been finished earlier that year and boasted state of the art equipment, laboratories, surgical theaters and recovery rooms; there was of course, a few areas that weren’t dedicated to healing people…but no one talked about those.

It was in one of those areas that Veld ran to first, his Turks hot on his heels as they followed the sound of panic and destruction, finally bursting upon a gory scene in one of the off- limits experimentation rooms. A large glass box dominated the center of the room, a huge hole bursting from the middle of one of the walls, blood around the edges; in the corner of the room, lay the dead assistant, Ames, mangled and broken…above his head, sat the telephone. Scientists were cowering under steel tables and Veld spotted Hojo among though, his lab coat bloodied along the midriff; he seemed pale and shaken. In the back of the room, the subject was rampaging still, the shrill sound of the emergency sirens driving him to a frenzy and without a word from Veld, Gun quickly put a shot through the device, silencing it.

The Turks slowly entered the rest of the way and fanned out behind Veld, checking pulses and general wounds of the slaughter. Two dead, one critical and three injured but not in any danger.

"Professor…if you could fill us in with what’s going on, beyond what I can gather for myself." Veld requested, moving to the left to try and get a glimpse of the subject. It had torn the lights out in the back of the room and all he could see were misshapen hints of a flesh colored creature, an arm in a blood stained lab coat dangling from it’s mouth.

Hojo pulled himself unsteadily from under the table, holding a hand to his side as he did so. “A chimera. It went out of control, as you can see. If you could try not to kill it….”

"It’s killed two people, Professor. Unless you have an idea for getting it under control, without endangering any lives, it’s going to have to be destroyed." Veld replied, glancing at him before advancing. "Gun, Katana, take my left and go around the box to it’s back. Try not to draw it’s attention. TG, Vincent, take my right."

The four Turks fanned out silently and disappeared into the shadows as Veld moved forward in the open, right hand resting in the crook of his left wrist, pistol pointed down the beam of the flashlight his other hand was holding. Ah there it was. He paused and glanced at make sure his Turks were in position before taking in the creature; he wasn’t sure what they had crossed with…it looked like a man and a Nibel Wolf. Smooth flesh was broken by patches of gray fur and deformed limbs scrabbled on the slick floor as Veld’s flashlight blinded it for a moment. A snarl rumbled from it’s throat and the Director adjusted his stance.

"Hey there…you poor, unholy thing. All you have to go is take a leap at me…and this nightmare will all be over." Five guns and two swords were poised and ready as the beast turned to face Veld fully.

"Help….me…" The garbled, pleading words tumbled from the creature’s mouth and Veld, startled by it, opened fire.

When it was over and the echoing thunder of the guns had ceased, Veld turned away and walked back to Hojo, pausing for a moment before delivering a right hook that sent the scientist onto the floor with a grunt that was followed by a low laugh.

"There’s things that shouldn’t be done by men and that is one of them. Your recklessness killed two people, in the name of science. I thought you were a better man that that, Professor.” Angrily, he took the Cure from his pocket, tossed it at Hojo and walked out, shaken and furious.

It was a several weeks later before Veld could bring himself to go back down to the labs but this time, with a different purpose. He had to ask several people before he finally found Hojo in one of the recovery rooms, dosing a soldier who had gotten a little carried away with a fire materia. The smell of burnt flesh and suffering permeated the room and Veld wrinkled his nose.

"Hojo. If I could speak with you outside."

The Professor glanced at him as he inserted the medication into the I.V line and straightened with a nod, following the Turk out in silence; they hadn’t spoken since the chimera incident, which Veld felt more keenly than Hojo.

"What can I help you with, Director."

Gray eyes sharpened at the tacked on title and he sighed, “I wanted to apologize for punching you…and to give you this.”

He held out the dark cherry box he had been carrying under his arm and nodded when Hojo finally took it, giving him a quizzical look before opening the golden latch and looking inside; it was a big 9mm pistol, only a little smaller than Veld’s .45 but it would certainly pack a punch.

"What’s this for? I have no use for a gun." Hojo stated, looking at Veld curiously.

"Yes you do. If you’re going to be working on creating an army…you’ll need it. Remember a few weeks ago? If you had been armed, those two young assistants might not have died….and I heard that Nibelheim is a rough place." Veld smiled, "Just take it and promise me you’ll wear it. Here’s a shoulder holster so you can wear it under your lab coat and there’s ammo in the bottom of the box."

"I see…" Veld was right of course but he wasn’t going to let on that he acknowledged the fact and he gave a half smile and held out his hand; Veld knew it was the closest to a thank you he was going to get out of the man and took his hand, yanking him into a bear hug with a laugh.


End file.
